Quitting the Boss (10 page)

But first thing was first. “Dad, what’s the deal with Eli?” Alec asked.

Erik tore apart a piece of bread, evading Alec’s scrutinized gaze. “Your mother told me you called.”

“She told me you made the deal.”

Putting the bread down, his father finally looked at him. “Son, I don’t expect–”

“No bullshit, Dad. I’m not a kid. Just tell me what’s going on.”

Erik took a long sip of his beer, all the while studying Alec. If he had to guess, Alec would say his father didn’t want to talk about it.

“Sometimes, a marriage doesn’t provide everything you need. After your mother had the miscarriage, things in the bedroom went a little cold. I started seeking other women to satisfy my needs.”

“You mean you cheated first.”

“Yes, Alec, I cheated on your mother.” Is that what you wanted to hear?”

The frustration was evident in his father’s voice, but Alec didn’t give a shit. His parents had been living a lie for far too long. “I want the truth.”

“The truth isn’t black and white. Yes, I cheated. I suspected your mother knew, but she didn’t seem to care. In fact, she seemed relieved.”

“So how did she end up fucking your best friend?” Christ, it was like something you’d see in a movie, except it wasn’t a movie Alec would ever want to see. He couldn’t imagine maintaining a friendship with Gavin if he crossed that line with Jenna.

Fuck
.
Jenna
. Not that Alec could claim her. He’d told her they were done. Yet, here he was, trying to understand his parents’ farcical relationship so maybe he could trust Jenna enough to get her back.

Erik shook his head. “Eli found out what I was doing and didn’t approve. Between you and me, he’s always had a thing for your mother. When I asked him to hire her, he said he would on one condition.”

“That she sleep with him?” Alec could hardly believe his father agreed to such a proposition.

“Yeah. Given how frigid Claire had become, I told him to go for it.” His father’s chortle spoke to the irony of the situation. “I didn’t think she would say yes.”

“But she did,” Alec sighed, almost feeling sorry for his dad. Almost. He supposed if Erik had cheated first, maybe he’d gotten his comeuppance.

“She did. The thing is, it melted the thaw – if you get my drift. Things got better with us, too.”

“Are you still cheating on her?” Alec asked, knowing his mother was still fucking Eli.

“We don’t look at it as cheating, but yes.”

The pieces were coming together, all too clearly. “Our waitress?”

Erik laughed. “You really want to know?”

Alec shook his head, though his father’s question answered the question loud and clear.

It made him sick to think of his parents having sex outside their marriage. His father dug into the freshly-baked bread, clearly unaffected by what Alec perceived as drama. But his mother had been working for Eli since Alec was in high school. Had she been fucking her boss all this time?

“Do Vivie and Vance know?” Alec asked of his younger siblings. There was nearly ten years between them and Alec realized it was shortly after the twins started school that his mother went to work for Eli.

“Not as far as I know. We didn’t even know you knew,” Erik admitted.

Alec thought long and hard and realized his mother had in fact gone to work for Eli after his brother and sister were born. There was no chance Eli was the father. Of course, Vance looked too much like their dad, just as Alec did, for there to be any question.

“Why not get divorced?” Alec finally asked.

“I love your mother. There’s no one else, no one, Alec, I want to come home to at the end of the day. But sexually, we both need a little bit more than we can get from each other.”

Alec didn’t understand it. Jenna was all he needed. With her insatiable desire, he certainly wouldn’t be able to handle another woman … or women, as it seemed his father was doing.

A different server brought their food, for which Alec was grateful. He didn’t want to face a woman his father had cheated on his mother with, no matter what his parents accepted in their relationship. Alec certainly didn’t want to witness any more of the flirtatious exchange between his dad and the other woman.

“You don’t agree with our decisions, I understand that,” his father said after tasting his chicken parmigiana. “What I want you to accept is that we are happy. It may not be a traditional relationship, but it works.”

Alec cut into the prime rib, which was so tender the knife eased through it like it was butter. “I just don’t see the point of marriage if you aren’t going to commit to that person.”

“Is that why you aren’t married, because of the decisions your mother and I have made.”

It was a valid question given that Alec was in his thirties. His parents had been married for over a decade by the time they were his age. Putting his knife and fork down, he looked at his dad, whose face was tense with concern. Alec wasn’t sure how to say what he felt without sounding accusatory. “I don’t want a relationship that’s built on lies,” he finally admitted.

“And ours isn’t,” Erik insisted.

Alec had come to Chicago for answers, prepared to hear things he wouldn’t agree with. That’s exactly what his dad had provided, the truth about a lifestyle he and Claire had chosen and were honest with each other about. They were happy. Alec knew this, had witnessed it for so long that what he thought was his mother’s betrayal had shocked him down to his marrow. Only, it wasn’t a betrayal. Erik had known all along and didn’t have an issue with it.

It was their choice, but it didn’t have to be Alec’s. He and Jenna had agreed from the start that if they were together they wouldn’t be with anyone else. She’d held to that, as had Alec, yet he’d continued to let his mother’s behavior be a haunting influence on his relationship with Jenna.

He hadn’t fully trusted her because of something he didn’t understand, something he had interpreted as a betrayal.

“Do you have a woman, son?” Erik asked, as if he could sense Alec contemplating his own decisions.

Unsure of how to answer the question, Alec chewed the prime cut slowly, trying to savor the taste but failing as he thought about Jenna.

She wanted more, but more was complicated. Alec didn’t want to get married. Maybe marriage wasn’t black and white, but what he’d grown up thinking of his parents and what was reality certainly blurred the lines. Jenna hadn’t alluded to marriage when she said she wanted more and given her mother’s history, that likely wasn’t on her mind. He wanted to trust her. In fact, he had no reason not to. What he had believed were betrayals in his parents’ marriage weren’t betrayals at all, just an alternate lifestyle that made them happy.

He couldn’t continue to let their decisions drive his own. He cared about Jenna, too much to let her go.

Jenna was strong-willed and he’d hurt her by walking away. She had every right not to give him another chance, but he’d do whatever was necessary to convince her he was worth taking a chance on. “It’s complicated,” Alec finally conceded.

Erik laughed, easing some of the tension keeping a tight hold on Alec. “Tell me. I understand complicated.”

Jenna reminded herself that the people in this room were her friends. They cared about her and wanted to wish her well. Even though she’d still be working with them regularly, it would be different and she did appreciate the warm send off.

She couldn’t ignore the fact that Alec wasn’t there, though. Not only had he called in sick on Thursday, but he remained MIA on Friday. Now here it was Friday evening, the night he’d said he was going to get them a hotel room and replay their first night together. Except he was a no show.

“Did you ever find out what’s happening with Alec?” Jenna asked Cash as he ordered another round.

“Nada. He replies to my emails with three word sentences at most. Doesn’t bother responding to the ones where I ask him what’s going on.”

Sounded like Alec. He didn’t like anyone in his personal business.

“I can’t believe you’re actually leaving our team. It’s not going to be the same without you.”

“You’re just saying that because you got stuck with Westville,” she mused.

“Well, if Alec doesn’t come back soon, I’m pawning that POS project off on Jalen. Don’t know why Alec didn’t give it to him anyway.”

“Because Alec’s a prick,” Jalen interjected.

“He’s not so bad,” Cash laughed. “You just gotta know how to take him. Well, that and it helps to not piss him off. What’d you do to get on his bad side anyway?” Cash asked.

Jenna steeled her expression, hoping Jalen wouldn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure if he thought she and Alec were still involved. He’d kept a tight lid on what he suspected all this time. There was no reason to shed light on it now.

“I didn’t do anything,” Jalen admitted, pinning Jenna with a knowing glance.

She smiled her gratitude, unable to say the words with Cash standing there. She’d been hoping she and Alec would go public, but that didn’t mean anyone had to know they’d been involved for almost a year.

Of course, if things were in fact over, no one needed to know anything.

“Why are you moping?” Elisa slurred. She’d obviously had one too many margaritas. “This is your party. You can cry if you want to, but I don’t recommend it.”

“How many of those have you had?” Jenna asked.

“Too many,” Carly whined, coming up behind Elisa. “I am not holding your hair when you’re praying to the porcelain god tonight.”

“Hey, that’s part of the roommate deal. If I have to deal with baby bottle paraphernalia and smelly diapers, you have to hold my hair when I hurl.”

“Can I stay with you?” Carly sighed, turning to Jenna.

“I’ve got room,” Cash interjected.

Carly laughed at Cash’s offer. “I’m sure you don’t want me and Abigail cramping your style.”

“You wouldn’t be cramping and I won’t drink myself into oblivion. Even if I did, look, no hair to hold.”

Carly laughed again. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jenna noted the only PM who hadn’t joined their huddle was Serenity. “You’d think she’d be happy I’m leaving,” Jenna said under her breath.

“Who?” Jalen asked.

“Serenity,” Elisa offered. “She hates Jenna.”

“What’d you do to her?” Jalen asked as if it was obvious Jenna was at fault.

“Hell if I know,” she shrugged. Jalen had more of a reason to dislike Jenna than Serenity did, but for some reason, the woman had always disliked her. Jenna chalked it up to conflicting personalities. Serenity wasn’t a very effective project manager and with her cold personality, she was difficult to work with.

“Speaking of hell,” Jalen said, nodding toward the door, “Alec just walked in.”

Jenna tried not to let her head spin around as if it was on a magnetic spindle drawn to his presence. Instead, she turned slowly.

Any relief she might have felt at him coming to her send off party was quickly crushed when she saw the scowl on his face. Without even offering a nod, he took up residence at the bar with Gavin and a couple of the project coordinators who were probably talking baseball.

“He looks pissed,” Cash pointed out.

“Go find out what’s going on,” Elisa insisted, elbowing Jenna in the arm. “You’re the only one who isn’t afraid of him.”

“I’m not afraid of him,” Jalen and Cash said in harmony.

Carly and Elisa both snickered.

“I’m sure if Alec wants us to know what’s going on, he’ll tell us,” Jenna offered. No way was she going to ask him here. She wanted to talk to him, but any conversation between them would either be brutally cordial or too heated for an audience.

“I bet he got dumped,” Jalen said, a smirk lifting one side of his mouth. “You all say all the time that life is good when he’s getting laid and it’s hell when he’s not. I say he got dumped.”

“I wonder who the mystery woman is,” Elisa cooed, always eager for gossip.

Time for a drink, Jenna thought, not wanting to speculate or let her urge to strangle Jalen steer her down a road she was better off avoiding. She signaled to the waitress and held up her glass.

Jenna didn’t normally drink, but this was supposed to be a celebration and she didn’t really mind having the alcohol numb her a little. Unfortunately, with only one margarita consumed, she hadn’t quite achieved the numbing sensation yet.

Without making it obvious, Jenna kept track of Alec, grateful for the gift of wide peripheral vision. He was dressed casual in jeans and a baseball jersey. He lingered at the bar, sparing her a glance every now and then, but the scowl never faded. She had no idea what to expect from him tonight, but she didn’t think he could avoid his team forever.

Finally, when her second margarita was half gone and the conversation had turned to a debate between Elisa and Cash on who could offer the best temporary accommodations to Carly and Abigail, Alec and Gavin made their way across the room.

“I think a toast is in order,” Gavin offered.

The group cheered in agreement. Jenna made eye contact with Alec for only a second, but she was well aware his gaze was trained on her.

“I’ll let Alec speak to her contributions to the software development team, but I can say without any doubt the program department is gaining a tremendous new director of training.”

Another round of cheers.

“Jenna will do a tremendous job for the company as the director of training,” Alec added, patting Gavin on the shoulder. “She will most certainly be missed in software development, but we’ll look forward to working with her on our training needs as they arise.”

“Thank you,” Jenna said, holding up her drink as the others did and clinking glasses.

After taking a long sip, she watched Alec set his glass on the table. The group parted as he stepped forward, closing the distance. The anger that had been lingering in his expression was replaced with a fire she recognized, but could hardly believe he was showing his passion in front of all these people. It was probably just wishful thinking mixed with an alcohol-inspired haze.

Except when Alec reached her, he took her drink from her and placed it on the table. He stepped right up to her, leaving barely a breath between their bodies. One hand moved around her neck, settling at her nape and stroking lightly while the other gripped her hip. Before she could register what was happening, his mouth captured hers.